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Gobodo forensic investigation was found wanting. 00:01
The spoils of the Richtersveld are an obvious target of state capture. Image: Shutterstock
The Zondo Commission of Inquiry entered 2021 by turning its focus on irregularities and allegations of state capture onto Alexkor, the state-owned diamond miner.
Alexkor owns the marine diamond mining rights stretching from Alexander Bay to Port Nolloth in the Richtersveld, while the Richtersveld Mining Company (RMC), a community mining company, owns the land diamond mining rights.
A successful restitution claim by the Richtersveld community resulted in the formation of a Pooling and Sharing Joint Venture (PSJV), whereby Alexkor has a 51% stake and RMC 49%. The PSJV enters into contracts for marine mining contracts on behalf of Alexkor, and land mining contracts on behalf of RMC.
First published in the Daily Maverick 168 weekly newspaper.
A joint venture led by state-owned entity Alexkor unlawfully awarded a company with ties to the Guptas a contract to market and sell diamonds mined in Alexander Bay, undermining economic development efforts in the Northern Cape region, the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture heard on Friday.
The commission resumed public hearings after a three-week break and started with allegations related to a joint venture owned 51% by Alexkor and 49% by the Alexander Bay community’s Richtersveld Mining Company (RMC), established after the community won land mining rights in court in 2007.
The Alexkor/RMC joint venture was initially seen as a victory for the region, as it pooled the community’s rights to mine the depleted land with Alexkor’s marine mining rights, where there were still significant diamond reserves.